Article display cabinet



July 5, 1938. 'r. J. PlLLlOD ET AL ARTICLE DISPLAY CABINET Filed May 8, 193 7 r 6 MM WM JH m mm mm m 5. 4 000A 3 J 5 Patented July 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICE.

2,123,023 ARTICLE DISPLAY CABINET Thomas J. Pilliod and Ferdinand C. H. Miiller,

Swanton, Ohio, assignors to The Pilliod Cabinet Company, Swanton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 8, 1937, Serial No. 141,445

2- Claims.

This invention relates to cabinets for the protected display of articles of merchandise, for instance such as silverware, and particularly to such cabinets wherein the cover or top includes a sheet of flexible transparent material through which the articles are viewed.

The object of the invention is the provision of certain features of improvement in a cabinet of this character, whereby to enhance the practicability and commercial value thereof.

A specific object of the invention resides in the manner employed for mounting and retaining the flexible transparent sheet material in position in the cabinet, whereby it may be easily and quickly mounted in or removed from the cabinet and releasably locked in mounted position therein.

Other specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display cabinet embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a section thereof on the line 22 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectiomon the line 3-3 in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the cabinet showing a modification of its rear edge portion; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the front edge portion of the cover member of the cabinet with the flexible transparent top member shown in the act of being inserted into position in the cover; Fig. 6 is a similar view with the flexible top member completely inserted in the cover and in locked position to prevent removal, and Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view.

Referring to the drawing, l designates the base or bottom member and 2 the top or cover member of the cabinet hinged together at their rear edges. The base member I preferably has a substantially flat bottom board 3, the top surface of which extends to and is flush with the outer edge of the base, as shown. Such surface, except for its marginal edge portion, is covered with a pad 4 preferably comprising a sheet 5 of fibrous material wrapped with a soft cloth 6. The members 1 for holding the silverware, or other articles to be displayed, are mounted on the pad 4.

The cover 2 is of rectangular form and comprises the spaced ends lfl, l0, and the front and rear side pieces II and I2, respectively, connecting such ends. The bottom edge of the cover is intended to seat flat on the marginal top edge portion of the base board 3 around the edge of the pad 4 with the inner marginal face wall of the cover coacting with the pad edge to tend to exclude dust from the interior of the cabinet when the cover is closed, as shown in Figs. 2 and '7. r r

In Figs. 1 and 2, in which both the front and back top edges of the cover 2 are shown rounded, both front and back side pieces II and i2 are made shallow with respect to the ends l0, and in the present instance are shown as less than half the height of the ends. The top member of the cover comprises a sheet 14 of flexible transparent material preferably of a cellulosic nature. This sheet is mounted at each end edge in a groove 15, in the respective cover end l0, and the groove substantially following the contour of the top edge of the endsin slightly inwardly spaced relation thereto and having its forward end curved upwardly and rearwardly. Each of these grooves has an inwardly offset entrance end portion [6, disposed in the present instance at the forward end portion of the cover and extending inwardly and downwardly around the front cross piece ll of the cover. The portion I 6 of each groove has curved connection with the body portion l5 thereof and at its upper end is forwardly broadened to extend over the incut upper inner edge of the cross piece II, which incut forms a stop shoulder or ledge 'l'! at the lower end of the major portion I5 of the groove. The inner edge portion of the stop shoulder I1 is preferably beveled, as shown at IS. The opposite cross piece of the cover, in the present instance the rear cross piece I2, is provided on its top in register at its ends with the grooves l5, with a lengthwise extending groove or recess I9 into which the rear edge of the cover member l4 seats when in position within the cover.

The flexible cover member I4 is intended to be threaded into the grooves [5 through the entrance portion l6 thereof and to be forcefully pushed around in the grooves until the advancing end strikes the bottom of the cross groove IS. The member I4 is of suitable length in threading direction so that when its advancing end strikes the bottom of the groove l9, its opposite end will register with the shoulder H and spring forward into stop engagement therewith, thus preventing a removal of the member I 4 from the cover except when the forward edge of such member, for such purpose, is sprung rearwardly into the enlarged entrance portions of the grooves and out of register with the shoulder l1.

It is preferable to make each of the grooves l5 of greater vertical depth than the thickness of the cover sheet [4 and to hold the sheet against the outer wall of the groove when the cover member I4 is properly positioned in the cover. This is accomplished by providing each edge portion of the cover sheet throughout its length with a longitudinally extending bead (Fig. 3). The bead 20 is formed by channeling the edge portion of the sheet with its open side uppermost, so that the convexed side of the channel portion rideson the bottom wall of the groove, while the leg portions of the channel at their terminal edges are disposed in close relationship to the upper wall of the groove. The provision of such edge beads not only strengthens the fiexible sheet material at its side edges to facilitate threading through the grooves, but also provides a substantially close fit between the upper surface of the material and the upper wall of the grooves, thereby improving the appearance of the cabinet and tending to prevent the passage of dust and dirt around the edge of the flexible sheet and into the cabinet.

In Fig. 4, the rear side wall [2 of the cover is shown as extending up to the topof the side walls Ill so as to form a square rear edge'instead of rounded, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In such case, the grooves 15 for the'transparent cover member H extend straight back and ter minate in register with a cross groove l9 in the inner face of the member |2 near its top edge.

We wish it understood that our invention is not limited toany specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous modifications and changes without de parting from the spirit of the claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by. United States Letters Patent, is: V

1. In an article display cabinet, a cover having opposed ends and opposed front and rear sides, the rear side having a lengthwise extending groove in its upper edge portion and. said front side being of less depth than the ends and having its inner top edge incut to form a ledge with a wall in front, said ends each having a marginal edge groove in its inner face extending rearwardly to and in register with the groove in said rear side and having its forward end extending to and in register with said ledge and downward at the rear of the front side to form an inwardly offset entrance portion, and a flexible top sheet of cellulosic material mounted at its opposite end edges in said grooves with its rear edge seated in the rear side groove and its front edge seated on said ledge and locked by said ledge against removal from the grooves except when the front edge of the sheet is inwardly pressed out of register with the ledge, said sheet having'at each end edge a bead which is disposed within the respective groove and retains the body of the sheet adjacent to' the outer wall of the groove.

2. In an article display cabinet, a cover having opposed walls each having a marginal edge groove in its inner face and a flexible sheet of cellulosic nature mounted at its opposite edges in said grooves and having at each of such edges a longitudinally extending bead which is concavo-convex in cross-section and is. disposed within the respective groove and coacts with the opposed walls of the groove to retain the body of the sheet in coaction With the wall of the groove.

THOMAS J. PILLIOD.

FERDINAND c. H. MIJ'LLER. 

